


Wise Up

by mldrgrl



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Caretaking, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22657630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mldrgrl/pseuds/mldrgrl
Summary: Scully needs someone to chaperone her after dental surgery.  Set pre-Millennium.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 25
Kudos: 171





	Wise Up

He came back from getting coffee to find her mid-conversation with her mother. She gave him a glance over her shoulder when he put the to-go cup quietly on her table and then lowered her chin so that her hair obscured her face. She switched her cell phone from one hand to the other and he shuffled to his own desk pretending to give her privacy.

“It’s fine, Mom,” she said. “I promise. I’ll just try to get it rescheduled until after the new year. No, I...no, I don’t need...Mom, it’s fine.”

He sipped his coffee and opened a file, but kept his gaze higher than necessary to keep her in his periphery. She pinched the bridge of her nose in silence for the next ten seconds and then she finally lifted her head.

“Mom,” she stated. “I have to go, I need to finish a report. I’ll reschedule for January. As for Thursday, don’t worry about it, you just feel better. I know. I know. I love you too. Bye.”

Scully disconnected her call with a deep sigh that Mulder pretended not to notice. He was burning with curiosity, however, and it was only a matter of time before he would ask. He just had to wait for the right opportunity. 

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

He nodded as she stood and rubbed the back of her jaw a little. He’d noticed she’d been doing that a lot lately, but hadn’t said anything about it. She left without her coffee, her jacket, or her satchel, so he assumed she was headed to the ladies’ room.

Only minutes later, she was back, and he was sipping his coffee and reading email. She stayed standing, lifting the lid of her own coffee and blowing across the top. He gave her a sideways glance as she paced in front of his desk with a pensive expression.

“Thanks for the coffee,” she said.

“A few dozen more and I might make a dent in what I owe you.”

“Mm.” The left corner of her mouth twitched into a half-smile.

He thought he might have an opening. “Everything alright?”

“Fine.”

He thought wrong. He nodded and clicked open another email advising an early release tomorrow for administrative personnel due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. He’d be surprised if he saw anyone but his own shadow at work tomorrow. Even Scully had taken the day off.

By the time he opened and deleted three other emails, she was still pacing by his desk, so he tried again. “How’s your mom?”

“She’s…”

“Fine?”

“She has the flu, actually. She called to tell me that she didn’t think she’d be up for Thanksgiving this year.”

“Oh.” Mulder sat back in his chair. Now he was the one pulling a pensive expression.

“It’s fine,” she said, quickly. “I wasn’t actually…”

He raised his brows in question and she shook her head dismissively. He swiveled from side to side in his chair and tapped a pencil against his chin as he looked at her, which he knew made her nervous. It worked. She shifted her feet and suddenly couldn’t decide if she might speak or drink her coffee. Her exasperation was palpable.

“I have a dentist appointment tomorrow,” she blurted. “Well, I was supposed to, but now I have to cancel.”

“Why?”

“I’m having a wisdom tooth removed and Mom was supposed to take me. I was going to use the long weekend to recover. She has the flu now, so…” She shrugged and finally took a sip of her coffee and then rubbed her lips together. “They don’t let you leave on your own after anesthesia. So, I have to reschedule.”

“I can take you.”

“No, Mulder, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. I can take you.”

“I don’t know…”

“It’s not like I’d be getting much done here by myself anyway.”

“I thought you always accomplished so much with me out of your hair.”

He smiled at her. “I just tell you that so you don’t feel guilty about leaving me on my own.”

She snorted softly.

“So, what time do I pick you up?” he asked.

“Don’t you have plans for Thanksgiving, Mulder?”

He got up out of his seat and walked over to her, extending his hand. “Fox Mulder,” he said. “We’ve obviously never met before.”

She bashfully lowered her head a little and hesitated for a few beats. “I need to be there by 9:15,” she finally said. “It’s only about ten minutes away from my apartment.”

“The Skinman’s gonna have a heart attack when I submit my request for time off.”

And that’s how he ended up sitting in a dental surgeon’s office splitting his attention between vintage copies of Reader’s Digest and anxiously checking his watch every five minutes. Occasionally, he would get up and inspect an elaborate fish tank taking up half the wall in the waiting room to watch the yellow tangs and clownfish pass from side to side.

It was nearly noon when the nurse came out to collect Mulder. “Your wife is ready for you,” she told him.

“Oh, um…” He tossed the Reader’s Digest aside and decided it wasn’t worth it to explain his relationship to Scully. Instead, he followed her to a tiny, all-white recovery room at the back of the office where his partner was curled up on a cot with her eyes closed.

“Miss Scully,” the nurse said, shaking her gently on the shoulder. “Your husband is here to take you home.”

Scully opened her eyes and stared blankly at the woman standing above her. She sat up slowly with the nurse’s help and then Mulder crouched down and put a hand on her knee. Her right cheek was puffed up, full of cotton swabs that poked out of the corner of his mouth. The size of her pupils caught him off guard, so dilated her eyes almost looked black.

“Muller,” Scully murmured. “My mowf ish mishing.”

“Your mouth is missing?” He chuckled softly and rubbed her knee. “Certainly not the whole mouth.”

“She might be a little loopy until the anesthesia wears off,” the nurse said. “The tooth was impacted and took some work.”

The thought of it made Mulder cringe. He helped Scully into her jacket and then to her feet and she swayed into him, leaned against him for support. The nurse handed him a small white bag with painkillers and instructions, which she rattled off to him as he escorted his partner slowly down the hall.

“Take the gauze out when you get home,” she said. “Don’t let her prod the jaw or use mouthwash for at least a week. She’ll probably want to sleep for a few more hours, but by the time she wakes up, she’ll be in a fair amount of pain. Give her one of the painkillers immediately, and then as needed, but no more than four in 24 hours. Ice packs will help with the swelling and the pain. She might feel lightheaded or woozy the next couple of days and that’s normal. No exercise for the next week, no drinking through a straw, and no eating or drinking at all for the next two hours. And then soft foods and room temperature liquids are fine. The pamphlet there has all the information you need.”

Mulder nodded along, suddenly nervous about the responsibility he’d volunteered for. He’d never had dental surgery and had no idea the amount of recovery involved. Maybe he should have let her reschedule the appointment so her mom could take care of her, but then again, he struggled to imagine Scully’s mom, as slight as she was, getting her daughter out of the office when Mulder was practically carrying her down the hall to the door.

It took some time, but he managed to get Scully into the car and buckled in. She turned her head towards him when he got in and gazed at him like she had just awakened from a pleasant dream.

“You’re susha good driver,” she said.

“Well, thank you,” he answered, latching his seatbelt.

“Even whener losh and dunno whereer at.”

“Lucky for you, there’s no chance I’ll get lost from here to the apartment.”

“Are we goin’ to your parparmen, Muller?”

“I’m taking you home.”

“Mm home.” 

Mulder started the car and that was the last thing Scully said until they arrived in front of her building. He would look over at her at red lights and she was still turned towards him, her eyes half-open, blinking slowly. When he parked the car, she turned her head and her brows came together with a deep frown. He helped her out of the car and she took baby steps across the lawn, leaving footprints in the thin layer of snow that covered the green.

Her face contorted as though she was in great pain and he stopped with her at the foot of the stairs up to her front door. “Muller,” she whined. “Thish isna wherer coush lives.”

“No, it’s where you’re couch lives.”

“I can’d shleep on my coush.”

“Good thing you have a bed. Come on, almost there.”

It was slow-going up the stairs. She took them one at a time, making sure both feet were planted securely before moving forward. By the time he got her through the door, she was sagging against him again and he considered just picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way.

“Home sweet home,” he said, unlocking her apartment door.

“Where’sh the dog?” she asked, blinking up at him. 

“What dog?”

“My dog.”

“Queegqueg? He uh…” Mulder paused. It probably wasn’t the best idea to let her know her dog had been eaten by a lake monster three years ago. “Queegqueg isn’t here right now.”

“Queegqueg. Thash a weird word, Muller. Queeeeeeequeeeeeeeeeeeg. Queegquegqueegquegqueegqueg.”

He put the bag of painkillers and nurse’s instructions on the table in her kitchen while she tried to wrap her head around the odd word. “Yeah, I always thought it was a weird name for a dog, too.”

“What dog?”

“Your dog.”

“I dun have a dog.”

Mulder raised his brows. “Okay, let’s get you to bed.”

Scully sighed a little and let Mulder lead her towards the bedroom. He sat her down on the bed and then knelt in front of her to unlace her tennis shoes. He wondered if he should try to coax her into getting into some pajamas, but figured it might be more trouble than it was worth. Jeans and a sweater should be comfortable enough. He got both shoes off her feet and then remembered the gauze needed to come out of her mouth. 

“Can you…?” He gestured to her mouth and she followed the wag of his finger until she turned cross-eyed. “We need to get those cotton balls or whatever it is out of your mouth.”

She opened her mouth for him and tipped her head back a little. If he didn’t know she was drugged up before, he definitely knew it now. A sober Scully would’ve insisted on gloves and sterilizing and sanitizing the entire room before letting him near her mouth. A sober Scully would’ve insisted she was fine and could do it herself. Gingerly, he plucked out the saliva and blood-soaked pieces of cotton from the inside of her cheek, trying not to let his squeamishness show too much or get in the way. It wasn’t lost on him that if the tables were turned, she would do the same for him, and more. 

When he was sure he’d removed all the gauze, he took it into the bathroom to dispose of, not looking at the little pile of gore in his hand. He shivered and then washed his hands with the soap that Scully had been smelling of lately, which he definitely wasn’t going to complain about because it made her smell so good. It made the night he’d ‘taught’ her how to play baseball even more memorable. He thought it might have been a new lotion or bath gel, but it turned out it was hand soap the whole time. Or maybe she had a whole set of it lurking in the bathroom. He dried his hands and peered at the bottle. It was simply called: Almond. He would buy her another bottle or a dozen for Christmas. He liked it.

Back in Scully’s room, he found her poking at her cheek with the pads of her fingers and he took her hand away from her face to stop her. “You can’t do that,” he said.

“Can’t feel anything.”

“It’ll wear off soon enough. Let’s get your coat off and into bed.”

“We can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

“Go to bed.”

“I don’t see why not.” He started to unbutton her coat. “You have the day off, tomorrow’s a holiday, and then you-”

“It’s against the rules.”

“I’m not familiar with any rules that prohibit adults from taking post-surgery naps.”

“The FBI says so.”

“I haven’t read the handbook in awhile, but I don’t think this’ll warrant an official reprimand in your permanent record. If it does, I’ve got your back.” He struggled to get her arms free from the jacket and she was no help. Just looked solemnly up at him while pouting her bottom lip slightly. He finally pulled the jacket loose and then reached behind her to turn down the bed. “Time to break some imaginary rules,” he said.

“I want to,” she whispered. “I really want to. But…” She winced and then reached up to cup her jaw.

“Hurting?”

“Kind of.”

“Okay, stay put.” He turned to leave, but was stopped by a pull on his back pocket.

“Where’re you going?”

“To get you an ice pack.”

“You’ll come back?”

“I promise.”

“Promise, promise?”

He traced an ‘x’ against his chest. She let go of his pocket and raised her hand up to him, all her fingers folded down except for the pinkie, which was crooked slightly.

“Pinkie swear?” she asked.

He chuckled and then hooked his pinkie finger with hers and gave it a shake. “Lay down,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

Afraid she might try to stop him again, he hurried out of her room for the kitchen. While there, he read over the instruction pamphlet on the table and checked her fridge and cupboards to see if she had any soft, bland foods, in case he might need to call out for delivery later or run to the store. He found some yogurt and cans of soup and figured that would be sufficient. What he couldn’t find, however, was an ice pack. He searched her freezer high and low, but found nothing. He decided to make do with a package of frozen corn wrapped in a tea towel.

He’d hoped to find her asleep when he came back to her room, but she was still awake, albeit drowsily staring up at the ceiling and rubbing at her jaw.

“You have to stop doing that,” he said, taking her hand away from her face. He gently placed the makeshift icepack against her cheek and sat down next to her to hold it in place.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He squeezed her hand. She turned her head slightly and then closed her eyes and sniffed a little. She looked up at him.

“You used my soap,” she said.

“Had to wash my hands earlier.”

“You like it don’t you?”

“It smells nice.”

“I noticed that you’ve been breathing me in lately.”

“If I have, I’m-”

“So, I went back to the shop I got the soap from and bought the lotion and the shower gel as well.”

“Oh.” The first thing he thought was that he was right. She did have a whole set lurking in her bathroom. The second thought he had was that she’d just admitted she was wearing it for him. Heat flooded his chest and tightened it, followed by a flutter low in his abdomen.

“You okay, Mulder?”

“Sorry, Scully, maybe I’m coming down with something?”

She struggled for a moment to sit up and the icepack slipped out of his hand and from her face, landing in the space between them on the bed. She grabbed his head with both hands and pulled his towards her.

“Scully, wha-?”

“Checking for fever,” she murmured, resting her left cheek against his brow. “You are a little warm, but I think you’re fine.”

“Not very scientific.”

“Some things are better than science.”

“I’m going to need you to repeat that when you’re no longer under the influence.”

“I haven’t been drinking.”

“You’re not exactly sober.”

She let him go and laid back down. He retrieved the icepack and rewrapped it in the towel that came loose. She waved him away when he tried to put it back on her cheek so he reached over to set it on her nightstand.

“I want to break the rules with you,” she said.

“Finally succumbing to my bad influence, are you?”

“I’m afraid though, Mulder.”

“What’re you afraid of?”

“The end of the world.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. We’re gonna save the world together. I promise.”

She shook her head. “Our world, Mulder. The world of you and me.”

“You’re gonna be stuck with me for a long, long time, Scully.” He chuckled and raised his hand up, folding his fingers down and keeping his pinkie up. “Pinkie swear.”

She grabbed his finger loosely with her own. “I’m sorry I’m so sleepy.”

“You’re drugged up, partner.”

“Oh.” She rubbed at one eye with the back of her hand. “You won’t go, right?”

“I’ll hang with you until you kick me out. You’ve got HBO, don’t you?”

“Even if we can’t go to bed?”

“What?”

“You said you wanted to take me to bed.”

“Oh.  _ Oh _ .” He almost laughed. Now her talk of rules made sense. Except, what she said, what she’d been saying, was that she wanted to break those rules. With him. “Scully…”

Her eyes closed lazily and she took a deep, slow breath, exhaling with a sigh. “I love you, Mulder.”

“Oh brother,” he whispered. He sat absolutely still for the next few moments as that warm, fluttery feeling washed over him again. He touched her shoulder and then leaned closer to her, watched her breathe slowly and evenly. “You’re the only one I want to break the rules with too, Scully.”

Even though she was caught in sedated slumber, he was pretty sure she knew how he felt. And he was definitely going to get her that almond soap for Christmas.

The End


End file.
